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8 forms of capital active hope agroecology agroforestry alder buckthorn Amazon anxiety apples arthritis autumn Autumn equinox back yard beans Bec Hellouin beech tree bees beneficial berries biochar biodigester biodiversity blackberries blackthorn book review brain brassica cage budget build building campesino capital card deck Celtic festivals change changes chemical-free chickens christmas circular clay pot cleansers cleansing milks climate change climate chaos climate emergency climate grief climate solutions climbers climbing cob comfrey community Community Nature Network community projects compost compost teas connection consciousness conservation container cooking coppice coppicing cordial cosmology courgettes crafts crisis crop protection Cross Quarter Festival cultural emergence culture cut flowers cycles degraded design diary diversity DIY do it yourself dryland earth care earth's cycles Earth's energy ecoculture economics ecopoetry ecosystem ecosystem restoration camps ecosystems edges edible edible flowers education efficiency elder elderflowers elements elixir energy equinox ethics face mask fair shares Fairtrade farming feedback feminine ferns figs film firewood floristry flower essence flower garden flowers food food forest food garden footbath forage foraging forest garden forest gardening forests fruit fruit leather fruit trees full moon funding fungi future future care gardening gardens garlic gift economy gin Give Nature a voice Glennie Kindred global poverty glut grapes green space greenhouse grief groundcover grow grow food grow your own growing guilds habitat habits handcream harvest harvests hawthorn hazel hazelnut healing shrubs healing trees health healthy soil heart health hedgerow hedging herbal herbal remedies herbal teas herbalist herbs holistic holistic planned grazing home homeless homemade wine homestead hope Hugelkultur humanure hummus hungry gap IBC tanks Imbolc incense increase yields Indigenous inexpensive influence inspiration International Womens Day jam keyline kingfisher kitchen garden lacto-fermentation Lammas land landscape landscapes life lifestyle limeflowers livelihood livestock living labs logs Looby Macnamara lotion low cost low-impact Lush Spring Prize macerations Manda Scott Mangwende Orphan Care Trust market garden market gardening marmalade marshmallow mass heater meadowsweet medicinal microbes microfarm Midwest Permaculture mimic mindset mitigation money moon phases Morag Gamble moringa Mother Earth movement mulch multifunctional mushrooms native plants natural natural building natural fertiliser natural skincare natural swimming pool nature nature connection nitrogen no dig no waste no-dig north-facing novel November nutrition nuts observe oca October off-grid oil cleansing orchard orchards organic organic flowers organic gardening outdoor shower oven oxymel oyster pallets pasture-fed patterns people people care peoplecare perennials permaculture permaculture design permaculture magazine award permaculture projects permaculutre permayouth pesto pests philippines pine tree pips pizza oven plant profile plants pollinators pollution polyculture polycultures positive change preserving principles propagating protection pruning prunings psycho-spiritual awareness psychospiritual transformation rainforest rainwater raspberries recipe recipes reduce reed beds regeneration regenerative regenerative agriculture relative location relative matter remedy renewable renewable energy resilient resources restoration reuse revolution rhythms rootstock rootstocks roundhouse roundwood runner beans sage salad salads salve Samhain schools Scotland scotts pine seasonal seasons seeds selfcare Sepp Holzer september septic tanks sewage treatment shade shamanism sheet mulching shrubs skincare sloes slugs small solutions small-scale smallholding social justice soil health solar solutions sowing spiritual spring squash stacking functions stock-free straw straw bale summer support sustainable Sweet Bay syntropic systems temperate terraces thistles thrutopia timber timber framing tincture tonic toolkit tools transformation trees upcycle urban urban gardening veg garden vegan veganic vermicomposting vinegar visionaries walnuts waste water water cleansing watering weeds wellbeing wetland wild edges wild food wild garlic wildflower wildlife wine recipes wings winter winter greens winter salads wood stove woodburner woodland woodland management woodlands world is possible worms yarrow year round year-round food yield young people youth zai pits zone 00 zoning

Topics

8 forms of capital active hope agroecology agroforestry alder buckthorn Amazon anxiety apples arthritis autumn Autumn equinox back yard beans Bec Hellouin beech tree bees beneficial berries biochar biodigester biodiversity blackberries blackthorn book review brain brassica cage budget build building campesino capital card deck Celtic festivals change changes chemical-free chickens christmas circular clay pot cleansers cleansing milks climate change climate chaos climate emergency climate grief climate solutions climbers climbing cob comfrey community Community Nature Network community projects compost compost teas connection consciousness conservation container cooking coppice coppicing cordial cosmology courgettes crafts crisis crop protection Cross Quarter Festival cultural emergence culture cut flowers cycles degraded design diary diversity DIY do it yourself dryland earth care earth's cycles Earth's energy ecoculture economics ecopoetry ecosystem ecosystem restoration camps ecosystems edges edible edible flowers education efficiency elder elderflowers elements elixir energy equinox ethics face mask fair shares Fairtrade farming feedback feminine ferns figs film firewood floristry flower essence flower garden flowers food food forest food garden footbath forage foraging forest garden forest gardening forests fruit fruit leather fruit trees full moon funding fungi future future care gardening gardens garlic gift economy gin Give Nature a voice Glennie Kindred global poverty glut grapes green space greenhouse grief groundcover grow grow food grow your own growing guilds habitat habits handcream harvest harvests hawthorn hazel hazelnut healing shrubs healing trees health healthy soil heart health hedgerow hedging herbal herbal remedies herbal teas herbalist herbs holistic holistic planned grazing home homeless homemade wine homestead hope Hugelkultur humanure hummus hungry gap IBC tanks Imbolc incense increase yields Indigenous inexpensive influence inspiration International Womens Day jam keyline kingfisher kitchen garden lacto-fermentation Lammas land landscape landscapes life lifestyle limeflowers livelihood livestock living labs logs Looby Macnamara lotion low cost low-impact Lush Spring Prize macerations Manda Scott Mangwende Orphan Care Trust market garden market gardening marmalade marshmallow mass heater meadowsweet medicinal microbes microfarm Midwest Permaculture mimic mindset mitigation money moon phases Morag Gamble moringa Mother Earth movement mulch multifunctional mushrooms native plants natural natural building natural fertiliser natural skincare natural swimming pool nature nature connection nitrogen no dig no waste no-dig north-facing novel November nutrition nuts observe oca October off-grid oil cleansing orchard orchards organic organic flowers organic gardening outdoor shower oven oxymel oyster pallets pasture-fed patterns people people care peoplecare perennials permaculture permaculture design permaculture magazine award permaculture projects permaculutre permayouth pesto pests philippines pine tree pips pizza oven plant profile plants pollinators pollution polyculture polycultures positive change preserving principles propagating protection pruning prunings psycho-spiritual awareness psychospiritual transformation rainforest rainwater raspberries recipe recipes reduce reed beds regeneration regenerative regenerative agriculture relative location relative matter remedy renewable renewable energy resilient resources restoration reuse revolution rhythms rootstock rootstocks roundhouse roundwood runner beans sage salad salads salve Samhain schools Scotland scotts pine seasonal seasons seeds selfcare Sepp Holzer september septic tanks sewage treatment shade shamanism sheet mulching shrubs skincare sloes slugs small solutions small-scale smallholding social justice soil health solar solutions sowing spiritual spring squash stacking functions stock-free straw straw bale summer support sustainable Sweet Bay syntropic systems temperate terraces thistles thrutopia timber timber framing tincture tonic toolkit tools transformation trees upcycle urban urban gardening veg garden vegan veganic vermicomposting vinegar visionaries walnuts waste water water cleansing watering weeds wellbeing wetland wild edges wild food wild garlic wildflower wildlife wine recipes wings winter winter greens winter salads wood stove woodburner woodland woodland management woodlands world is possible worms yarrow year round year-round food yield young people youth zai pits zone 00 zoning

1. Relative Location: An Original Permaculture Design Principle

Maddy introduces Bill Mollison's original permaculture design principle, Relative Location, and explains why the placement of elements in a permaculture design is a crucial part of the design process

‘Relative location’ is an early permaculture design principle. The concept of permaculture design principles first emerged in Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual (1988) by Bill Mollison and Introduction to Permaculture (1991) by Bill Mollison and Reny Mia Slay. These principles were reviewed by David Holmgren (one of the co-originators of permaculture) in his book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability (2002). I have written about David’s principles in both a land-based context but also within society here.

Whilst I find David’s revision very comprehensive and clear, I like the accessibility of the original Mollison principles and so am adapting a series of articles I wrote for Permaculture magazine back in 1995-6. These principles all show how permaculture makes links and connection between elements, demonstrates  the commonsense of putting things in the right place to save time, energy and to reduce waste. They are a mental pathway to understanding interconnection and the beneficial web of relationships that we see in nature. They show how permaculture design seeks to mimic nature and thereby express the idea of applied ecology.

Relative location

When we are designing a garden, smallholding, farm or village, there can be many elements which make up the design: intensively gardened vegetable beds, chicken runs and houses, ponds, water butts, greenhouses, an orchard, coppice area, outhouses, conservation area, windbreaks, farm buildings and so on…

Design is not purely about what to include on a site, but about how the different elements are connected. Interconnection is the key. It is important that elements interact positively and efficiently with each other and that they are not just randomly located. By making connections, we can save energy, create many functions for each element and recycle waste products.

In a conventional garden it is common to hide a kitchen garden away from the house, behind a hedge. Composting systems are also regularly ‘ghetto-ized’ as far from human eyes as possible. Yet kitchen gardens do not have to be ugly, as Joy Larkcom and the late Geoff Hamilton have demonstrated. The result is often a neglected veggie patch where the gardener’s shadow is rarely seen.

Planning in systems

On the other hand, siting a vegetable garden with composting systems between a chicken run and house fulfils many needs. Kitchen scraps are fed to the chickens, the chickens eat the perennial weeds and unwanted vegetation from the garden that you loathe to compost, produce manure and feathers for composting, which in turn is fed back to the garden, and provide eggs and meat for the kitchen. Having the chickens near to the house and garden can also save miles of walking over the years.

Water can be collected from the roof of the chicken house for the chickens. Fruit trees and edible hedging can be included in the run, providing food for the chickens from windfalls. The chickens help control pests, manure the ground and prevent too much vegetation growing to compete with the trees (but mulch those trees with heavy stones or slabs if you have a lot of chickens as they can be very destructive!).

Another example of good relative location is the greenhouse. Instead of putting it up the garden, out of sight, an ideal placing is on the south side of the house (in the northern hemisphere). The rays of the sun can heat the rest of the house, the house wall acts as a heat store and warms the greenhouse at night; and having it so close to the kitchen allows the gardener to water and tend the plants far more easily. In fact, my ‘greenhouse’ is my kitchen, allowing me to propagate plants and bring on seedlings in a place that I spend time in every evening. This is especially useful in winter when the days are short and there is little time after work for pottering in the greenhouse proper, sited by the raised vegetable beds.

Applying relative location to community structures

Relative location not only applies to garden design but also to community structures. A local vegetable box scheme is an example of making connections in the community. Buying organic vegetables through a box scheme provides low cost, fresh vegetables, supports local organic growers, and saves resources by avoiding food miles. The scheme save its members time (shopping) and money (the box we have is much cheaper than the supermarket and the vegetables taste delicious) and encourages links between local people, the essential ingredient of community.

The organic café at The Sustainability Centre (where PM used to be based) uses organic veg ordered from a supplier and is also the delivery point for veggie boxes. Every Thursday people pick up their boxes at the café and often have a drink or a meal. This means there is only one drop-off point and collection can be any time the café is open. As we (Permaculture magazine staff) work at the centre this means we make no special journey to pick up our boxes. In addition, Thursdays is the morning the Green Beans Toddlers and Parent Group meet in the café. They too are customers of the box scheme. Green Beans also have a garden at the centre where they grow food, teaching their children about horticulture.

The Sustainability Centre volunteers sometimes help in the Green Beans garden. Another project, Fitzroy Support, is a charity that provides horticultural therapy for young adults with special needs. One of its activities is to grow vegetable seedlings on the site and these are purchased for the garden area, thereby supporting this excellent charity. The café is therefore an ideal location for all these activities, saving time, resources, supporting a local organic grower, an organic business and building community by offering a venue for a weekly group.

As the web of activities and services at the Sustainability Centre grows, each of these services support each other. What really makes the community glue though is the Sustainability Centre itself which hosts all the different activities and services, perfectly demonstrating the principle of relative location.

So to summarise the principle, relative location is about seeing an element as a part of a functioning whole rather than in isolation. By putting each element in the right place in a design, the yields and wastes of each element can be made to fulfil the needs of other elements, creating a healthy, energy-efficient system. 

For the full series, go to: What is Permaculture?